Virgin customers still trapped in NT-hell?

It's plus ça change at the old NTL – now Virgin Media – according to customers who are reporting that the problems that plagued the cable company are ongoing.

Virgin Media, now headed up by Richard Branson, promised at its glitzy launch last month that the poor customer service that characterised the old NTL would be a thing of the past.

However, this week customers are reporting that it's been almost impossible to get through to its customer services. Others trying to leave the company have spoken about waiting on hold for 45 minutes, only to have their call "automatically terminated".

Virgin says its call centres have been swamped by callers trying to gain information about its public spat with Sky that led Virgin to drop several popular channels – including Sky One – last week.

Those customers getting through to complain that their TV offer has been devalued are generally being offered a £10 a month discount - for six months.

Neil Berkett, chief operating officer of Virgin Media, says: "We would like to sincerely apologise to anyone who has had to wait a long time to speak to us recently. We are working very hard to answer the queries as quickly as possible, which are now starting to reduce, and we're also using our website (virginmedia.com/fairplay) to help provide regular information.

"Prior to Sky's decision, we were on track with our ongoing improvements to customer care and were answering around 70% of calls within 30 seconds. Independent research conducted by Maia Consulting has also shown a dramatic improvement in our contact centres."

One of the problems at the company appears to be that call centre staff from other departments have been redeployed to answer queries about the battle with Sky.

The company is desperate to stop customers cancelling the service and migrating over to rival services. As a result, customers who do get through to complain are being offered extra services, or a discount on existing ones, that are typically the equivalent of £10 a month.

"It's done on a case by case basis, but we're doing out best to keep our customers happy," says a Virgin spokesman.

The company has said that customers who want to cancel their TV packages as a result of the loss of Sky channels, even inside the initial 12-month contract, are free to do – but that assumes they can get through to the company in the first place.